Pete's Walks - Caddington figure-of-eight walk (page 3 of 3)
Crossing a road by a pub, I continued on further field paths towards Slip End.
Path between Woodside and Slip End
I crossed a road on the edge of Slip End, and continued on a clear footpath on the other side. I drive through Slip End every time I go to Luton or beyond, and I have said to myself numerous times that I must walk that path sometime. It felt good to finally get round to doing it. The path ran along the edge of another wheat field, with a charming view over the valley to my right, then continued beside a small wood to reach Half Moon Lane, a public byway that takes its name from the pub in the hamlet of Pepperstock at its north-eastern end.
Path from Slip End to Half Moon Lane. I'd wanted to walk this path for years, as I pass the start of it every time I drive to or through Luton.
The same path continuing towards Half Moon Lane
I turned right, following the rather muddy byway south-westwards initially beside a lengthy wood, Limekiln plantation. It was quite an attractive track, but sadly marred by the frequent workings of fly tippers (a sad blight in this part of the world). After a short stretch between fields it then passed a smaller wood on my right, from which I could hear the sounds of much gunfire (I was half hoping it was the fly tippers getting their come-uppance, but it was probably just a few Wood Pigeons meeting their end).
Half Moon Lane
Half Moon Lane
Half Moon Lane
Half Moon Lane
Looking back towards Slip End from Half Moon Lane - the path I'd walked earlier ran behind the wood at the top right of the photo
The byway ended at a corner of a lane (there was a huge sign warning fly tippers of penalties of fines up to £50,000 or imprisonment). I continued ahead a short distance, then turned half-right, following tractor tracks that marked the route across a ploughed field. Down to my left was the A5 running past Markyate. Through a metal kissing gate, the path then went left along the edge of a field of short grass to another such gate and a path junction. I turned sharp right, away from the gate, and crossed the field diagonally to a gate back in the same hedgerow the first gate had been in - the paths went round two sides of a triangle here, rather than just follow the hedgerow. A bit annoying, but at least I saw a Buzzard over the grounds of Markyate Cell as I was crossing the field. The path continued between a wheat field and a ploughed field on my right to reach the Markyate to Slip End road which I'd crossed earlier.
The short section of lane that I walked
Looking across the Ver valley to Markyate, from where I left the lane
Looking across the A5 to Markyate
The path from Markyate approaching the road to Slip End
I followed the road to the right for about quarter of a mile before taking a path going half-left, crossing a huge paddock diagonally - there were about 25 ponies here. The path continued half-left again, soon passing through a smaller paddock with about six brown horses, and then turned right to emerge on a road by the Methodist chapel in Aley Green. I remember being taken there once when I was a teenager to listen to a Christian folk group - one of the songs they sang really stuck in my mind. I remembered they said it was a Ten Years After track, and about 30 years later I did some research on the internet and found it was a song called 'Circles'. I also vaguely remember meeting a young lady there that night, who I believe later married someone I knew.
Methodist Chapel, Aley Green
Road through Aley Green
I walked left along the road through Aley Green, then took a path on the right. I crossed a minor road, and soon returned to the path by the school where I'd left Caddington. I then retraced my steps the quarter of a mile or so past the two schools to the village green. It was now 2pm, and I sat and ate my sandwiches in my car as there had not been anywhere convenient to stop on the walk.
Path through Wheat field, between Aley Green and Caddington
This was an enjoyable walk, which I may well repeat sometime. It was nice to find somewhere so close to home that I had not walked before. The views from Blows Downs were nowhere near as attractive as those from Dunstable Downs, and there was a lot of road and other noise as I walked along them, but they are still an attractive place to walk. There was also some noise from the M1 along other sections, but it didn't detract too much from the walk. The paths were almost entirely clear and well-marked, so route finding wasn't too difficult, and the rolling agricultural landscape was quite pleasant on what turned into a warm and bright summer's day.
To see this walk when I did it again on 25/4/11, click here - Caddington 'figure-of-eight' walk, again.
To see this walk when I did it again on 30/5/10, click here - Caddington figure-of-eight walk, again